Chen Bin wiped his mouth with a tissue before he slowly began to speak.
"If I were you, I definitely wouldn’t go to Secretary Feng to ask for money. Instead, I’d keep strengthening the relationship with him."
Seeing Wu Liang’s puzzled expression, he continued.
"You only see that Secretary Feng didn’t handle things, but from his perspective, taking the money and failing to deliver is deeply humiliating."
Wu Liang grasped the underlying aning in Chen Bin’s words and slowly nodded.
"Go on, tell more."
"Think about it. Secretary Feng must feel guilty about this situation. If you maintain a good relationship with him, when he firmly establishes his position in the future, do you think you’ll miss out on the benefits?"
Wu Liang carefully weighed this thought and felt it made a lot of sense.
Failing to beco Secretary of the Tianhai Municipal Committee didn’t an there weren’t other roles available elsewhere.
There was no need to obsess over this point.
Seeing Wu Liang’s mood improve, Chen Bin quickly continued.
"Actually, you must realize deep down that you’re not short on money. Instead of offending Secretary Feng, why not take the long view and fish for bigger rewards? Which is more important—money or career? I think you understand perfectly well."
At that mont, Wu Liang suddenly noticed that Chen Bin possessed remarkable political insight.
His analysis was thorough and compelling.
With the proper guidance, he could achieve great things in the future.
He smiled and replied, "I treated this promotion to secretary like it was my last chance, and that’s why I was so worked up. After listening to you, I finally see it clearly. You must understand how I felt earlier, right?"
"Of course I understand. If I were in your position, I’d probably be even more agitated. As long as the reasoning is laid out clearly, it’s all fine."
"Sigh, earlier I just lost my cool for a mont. I wasn’t targeting you, nor was I targeting Secretary Feng. Here’s a toast—I’ll take this shot as a gesture of apology!"
As he spoke, Wu Liang picked up the glass in front of him and downed it in one go.
Imdiately after, he started chatting casually about everyday matters with Chen Bin.
Midway through their conversation, he suddenly asked.
"Would you be interested in working in the city? For instance... being my secretary?"
Wu Liang felt that Chen Bin had a sharp mind; keeping him close would undoubtedly be a wise move.
Without hesitation, the latter shook his head.
"I’ll pass. Honestly, I haven’t been considering that lately."
"What? You don’t even want to be my secretary?"
Seeing Wu Liang’s surprised expression, Chen Bin explained.
"Of course I’d want to, but right now there are still a lot of things I don’t fully understand. I think it’s better to train at the grassroots level for a few more years first. When Secretary Feng arranges your position, I can join to assist you then."
Wu Liang smiled at these words, visibly pleased.
Chen Bin had a wider perspective and a more thoughtful approach.
Such young talents were truly rare.
Unintentionally, Wu Liang’s fondness for Chen Bin deepened even further.
"I heard you’re dating Huang Ming’s goddaughter. How’s that going?"
Chen Bin let out a slight sigh and feigned an insincere attitude.
"Eh, it’s going so-so."
Wu Liang’s eyes lit up, speaking casually as if it ant little.
"You young folks, when it cos to love, you should value mutual feelings. If you’re not into her, there’s no need to force it."
Chen Bin replied with a simple "Mm" and didn’t say more.
Wu Liang continued, "If you think Huang Ming’s goddaughter isn’t the right fit, I could introduce you to soone better—not only beautiful but also from a great family. She could even help boost your career in the future."
"Really?"
"Of course! Right now, I’m depending on you to stay in touch with Secretary Feng. Why would I bluff you?"
After their al, Wu Liang sent Chen Bin 30,000 RMB via WeChat.
"It’s just a small token of appreciation. Don’t think too little of it, alright?"
"Co on, you treated to dinner. How could I possibly accept money from you? I really can’t do this!"
Despite his words, Chen Bin showed no intention of returning the money.
"Don’t say that. Asking you to relay ssages is exhausting work. Treat this as a stipend for your efforts."
"Ah, it’s just passing on a ssage. It’s really no trouble at all. How am I supposed to take this?"
"I’m telling you to accept it, so just take it. If you keep pushing back, I’ll really get upset!"
Seeing how firm Wu Liang was being, Chen Bin could only pretend to be slightly embarrassed and chuckle awkwardly.
"Alright, then. I’ll take it respectfully instead of declining."
When he returned to the County Committee and County Governnt building, Chen Bin was about to head upstairs when he suddenly received a call from Wang Jun.
"Co to my office for a mont!"
"Alright."
After responding, Chen Bin imdiately walked into the county secretary’s office.
Noticing Wang Jun’s worried expression, he hurriedly asked.
"Godfather, what’s wrong?"
"The winery’s having so issues."
"What happened?"
"When He Chaoping worked at Tianhe Old Winery previously, he offended so people. Now that they’ve found out he’s beco the director of Bailing Winery, they’re threatening the distributors, forbidding them to sell Bailing Wine. This has completely shut down our sales channels!"
This sort of affair didn’t surprise Chen Bin.
Given He Chaoping’s temperant, it was all too normal to have made enemies.
Back then, others refrained from acting out due to his position as deputy director at the Tianhe Old Winery.
Now that he was at a smaller winery, it made sense they’d choose to cause trouble.
"Since it’s already happened, panic won’t solve anything. We need to figure out our next move quickly."
"But what exactly should we do?"
"Hmm... let go back and think this through."
With that, Chen Bin turned and left.
Back in his office, he imdiately called Ma Juan.
"Xiao Juan, how are things on your end?"
"Ugh, it’s so frustrating!"
"How much have you sold so far?"
"Begging and pleading with everyone, almost to the point of kneeling, and I’ve only sold half. What will I do if I can’t finish the task?"
Hearing Ma Juan’s anxious tone, Chen Bin quickly reassured her.
"Selling this much already is a huge accomplishnt. From your efforts so far, what’s the biggest hurdle you’re running into?"
"Lack of recognition! The wine is good, but it’s pricey and requires upfront paynt. Many are afraid it won’t sell and just won’t take the risk."
"So if we resolve the recognition issue, would everything be sorted?"
"Absolutely! If the branding problem is solved, I can guarantee we’ll surpass the target!"
After understanding the issue, Chen Bin consoled Ma Juan a bit more before ending the call.
That evening, after work, he arranged to et He Chaoping at a restaurant near the winery.
Initially, He Chaoping seed cheerful, as if grateful to Chen Bin for being his benefactor.
But upon hearing that the purpose of the eting was to discuss the winery’s problems, his mood turned gloomy.
In Chen Bin’s eyes, once a problem surfaces, it must be addressed imdiately.
Evading it was simply not an option.
"Secretary Wang already ntioned the winery situation to . Aside from soone deliberately interfering, what’s the biggest issue affecting Bailing Wine sales?"
"It’s obviously our lack of recognition! The county has already invested a lot into creating the winery—I don’t dare spend funds on advertisents. But if the wine doesn’t sell, it won’t be long before I can’t even pay the workers’ wages."
At this point, He Chaoping grabbed his glass of spirits and began gulping it down.
A full bottle—Chen Bin only drank half a cup, while the rest was finished entirely by him.
Having eaten almost nothing, the cold wind hit as soon as they stepped out of the restaurant, causing him to lean against a wall and vomit.
Watching He Chaoping’s pale face, Chen Bin worried sothing serious might happen, so he imdiately called for an ambulance and took him to the hospital.
After a check-up, it turned out to be nothing major.
The doctor prescribed two bottles of glucose and had him lie down for a drip.
Feeling no desire to stay longer, Chen Bin hired a temporary caregiver for He Chaoping.
As he was about to leave the hospital, he encountered Xu Ruoxuan at the entrance, looking pale and in clear agony.
Chen Bin quickly stepped forward to support her. "Sis, what’s happened to you?"
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